annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam 1 Annual Report 2012 University of Amsterdam 2 annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam Credits Published by University of Amsterdam June 2013 Annual Report design April Design Photography Bram Belloni | Niels Blekemolen | Bob Bronshoff Liesbeth Dingemans | Ton Dujardin | Dirk Gillissen Andrea Kane Courtesy | Monique Kooijmans | Marc Kruse Eduard Lampe | Peter Lowie | Hanne Nijhuis | Jeroen Oerlemans Christian Richters | Wilbert van Woensel | Bert Zuiderveen Cover photo: Glass House of Science and Scholarship on Spui square, 3 September 2012 (Photo: Monique Kooijmans) Information University of Amsterdam Communications Office P.O. Box 19268 1000 GG Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 - 525 2929 www.uva.nl Disclaimer: This translation is provided for information purposes only. In the event of a difference of interpretation, the original Dutch version of this document is binding. © University of Amsterdam annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam 3 Contents 5 Foreword by the President 7 Key data 11 Message from the Supervisory Board 13 Members of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board 19 1. Teaching and research 19 1.1 Public profile 25 1.2 Research 28 1.3 Teaching 39 1.4 Corporate social responsibility and innovation 43 2. Organisation 43 2.1 Quality of staff 46 2.2 Ties with staff, students and alumni 48 2.3 Reliable and sustainable services 50 2.4 Targeted campus infrastructure 53 2.5 Sustainability 55 2.6 Finances 59 3. Administration 59 3.1 Administrative structure 64 3.2 Remuneration data 69 4. Financial report 69 4.1 Report for 2012 74 4.2 Treasury 76 4.3 Budget and risks 79 Appendices 79 Appendix 1 Degree programmes and programme assessments 84 Appendix 2 Research assessments 85 Appendix 3 Facts and figures executive board FLTR: Paul Doop (Vice-President), Dr Louise Gunning-Schepers (President), Prof. Huib de Jong (Rector AUAS/HvA), Prof. Dymph van den Boom (Rector Magnificus UvA) annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam 5 Foreword by the President Twenty-minute mini-lectures, open to all, on a wide range of topics: from the moment the Glass House of Science and Scholarship on Spui square opened its doors on Monday, 3 September 2012, the public jostled to attend. Throughout the entire day, marking the opening of the University of Amsterdam’s (UvA) 76th lustrum (five-yearly anniversary) celebrations, all interested members of the public could follow a series of lectures delivered there by 14 UvA professors and the UvA Lecturer of the Year 2011. They could also watch the lectures on video screens mounted outdoors. This initiative – a day of modern civic lectures exploring important questions of our time – illustrates the UvA’s value for the city of Amsterdam: teaching, asking questions and sharing knowledge. For the UvA, 2012 was a year in which we continued to build on our Strategic Plan 2011-2014, An Eye for Talent, which sets out clear goals concerning the quality of our curricula, study success, research and operational management. As this Annual Report demonstrates, definite progress has been made in all of these areas. The Strategic Plan 2011-2014 also served as the basis for the UvA’s institutional profile, drawn up within the framework of the General Agreement concluded between the Association of Universities in the Netherlands and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The UvA Profile was approved by the Review Committee and resulted in performance agreements with the same Ministry. One element in the Profile is the collaboration between the UvA and VU University Amsterdam. After signing a letter of intent in May, the two institutions took major steps towards defining the dimensions of their collaboration during the second half of 2012. As well as the establishment of a joint science faculty, there will also be greater collaboration in the area of graduate degree programmes. The Executive Board of the UvA and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences was saddened at Jet Bussemaker’s departure for a career in politics. However, the Board was pleased to have found a successor soon thereafter, in December, in Huib de Jong, who has now taken his place on the Board and as rector of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. This Annual Report details measures taken at the management level and figures that substantiate the UvA’s good results, ranging from a healthy equity, increasing study success, a ten per cent rise in the number of doctorate conferrals and a growing number of academic publications to the introduction of a consistent teaching evaluation system. It also describes a selection of the year’s events, including numerous debates, symposia and conferences, the rescue of the collection of the Netherlands Theatre Institute, prizes, grants and fellowships awarded to UvA researchers, the opening of the new CREA (student cultural centre) building and Amsterdam University College, and different collaborative arrangements with other institutions. While the professors were delivering their lectures in the Glass House on Spui square, it was my privilege to open my first academic year as president of the Executive Board. In my address, I emphasised the importance of looking beyond borders – to Europe and the rest of the world – if we are to secure the UvA’s position as the Netherlands’ leading intellectual hub. Intellectual, because a university education should still stand for thinking, critical skills and analysis. With more than 100 nationalities, 30,000 students, 5,400 staff members, four open city campuses and countless partnerships in this country and abroad, the UvA is poised to serve as a hub for teaching, research and innovation – in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and around the world. Dr Louise Gunning-Schepers President of the Executive Board 6 annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam 7 Key data 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Enrolled students Total number of students enrolled at the UvA 28,331 30,825 32,739 32,165 29,8731 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Intake of students enrolled in the first year of a degree programme at the institution (as at 1 Oct.)2 Bachelor’s intake 6,014 7,075 7,178 6,392 6,003 Pre-Master’s intake 798 888 794 138 230 Master’s intake 2,750 3,123 4,094 4,550 4,560 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 Exams taken per academic year Credits (ECTS) 1,021,806 1,087,150 1,183,817 1,188,470 1,343,245 Bachelor’s exams 2,767 3,391 3,203 3,633 4,577 Master’s exams 2,857 3,331 3,990 4,939 5,751 Initial university degree (doctoraal) exams 917 411 438 375 293 Post-Master’s/postdoctoral exams 307 294 242 272 313 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Doctoral theses per calendar year Doctoral theses 349 379 404 405 449 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Academic publications per calendar year Academic publications 7,553 7,900 8,234 8,713 9,129 Professional journals 1,255 1,372 1,267 1,195 1,411 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Staff (FTEs as at 31 Dec., excl. AMC-UvA)3 Academic staff 2,251 2,318 2,341 2,459 2,486 Support and management staff 1,764 1,768 1,770 1,829 1,827 Individual UvA total 4,015 4,086 4,111 4,288 4,313 Consolidated affiliated institutions 521 557 559 558 581 Consolidated UvA total 4,536 4,643 4,670 4,846 4,894 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Key financial data (in€ 1 million) Equity (as at 31 Dec.) 273 278 308 310 301 Solvency (equity/total assets) 51% 45% 47% 47% 41% Transfer AMC-UvA4 135 144 141 140 149 Other operating expenses (UvA individually) 435 454 467 498 501 Total operating expenses 570 598 608 638 650 (UvA individually plus the Faculty of Medicine) Group result (3.2) 2.9 30.0 2.2 (8.7) 1 In 2012, this included 279 UvA employees (of which a large number were student assistants). 2 As from the 2011-2012 academic year, a certain number of pre-Master’s students enrolled as contract students rather than regular students (for courses of 30 or more ETCS credits). 3 The individual UvA employee data include both employees seconded to the T.M.C. Asser Institute and UvA employees at the ACTA. 4 The government grant for the teaching hospital (Academisch Ziekenhuis) as a workplace is presented as an allowable deduction from the UvA’s income in the Annual Statement of Accounts. This grant is included in the transfer of funds to the AMC-UvA in this key data overview. 8 annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam annual report 2012 | university of amsterdam 9 Message from the Supervisory Board The Supervisory Board met on eight occasions in 2012, including six times together with the Executive Board. The main topics in the reporting year were: the institutional profile, the performance agreements with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, regional collaboration, preparations for the Institutional Audit, the accommodation plans, and filling the vacant positions in the Supervisory and Executive Boards. Progress was made in filling the vacant positions in the Supervisory and Executive Boards in 2012, based on the recommendation made by Mr van der Steenhoven in 2011 in his capacity as the formateur appointed jointly by the Dutch State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science and the Supervisory Board. The vacant positions were the main topic of a closed meeting of the Supervisory Board in June, during which the Board evaluated its own functioning in relation to the remaining vacancies. The functioning of the Executive Board was also discussed at this time, ahead of the annual consultations with its members.